Members of Egypt’s socio-economic elite do not have a strong sense of citizenship due to the lack of a working democracy, according to a recent study conducted by the National Center for Social and Criminal Research.
The study, based on a sample that included 365 respondents in Greater Cairo, was prepared by consultant Ibrahim el-Bayoumi Ghanem and supervised by judge and historian Tarek el-Beshri.
The study found that 69.5 percent of those polled believe that the freedom of expression represents the most important right, followed by the right to nominate oneself as a candidate in national elections. The lack of an environment conducive to such rights leads to a diminished sense of citizenship, the study found.
“Allowing Egyptians the right to express themselves freely without fear is an excellent tool for shaping the Egyptian identity,” said Sami Omar, sociology professor at the American University in Cairo. “These days, unfortunately, this identity is in tatters.”
The study also found that passivity on the part of most Egyptians is a main cause for their inability to exercise the rights associated with citizenship–a state of affairs for which the state is largely responsible. According to the study, state responsibility for this is manifest in the official media apparatus, which has failed to promote citizenship as a central concept.
Meanwhile, the lack of political and civil rights–along with the lack of participation in the decision-making process–also contribute to a sense of popular alienation. “Living in a country in which the state always acts unilaterally makes people feel estranged; makes them feel like they don’t belong,” said Adel Ramadan, a lawyer at the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
The study also found that a lack of civic principles–such as justice, freedom and equal rights–was also conducive to a diminished sense of belonging.
“People who don’t experience these values often lack the full feeling of citizenship,” said Ramadan. “The state should treat all Egyptians as citizens, irrespective of religion or anything else.”
Egypt’s longstanding emergency law has also served to detract from a popular sense of citizenship, according to the report. “The state of emergency is an abnormal state, which should only be applied in case of emergencies,” said Omar. “Keeping it in place for decades only increases the public’s sense of alienation.”
Besides the legal and political aspects, the report found that citizens’ economic status also plays a role in their sense of belonging–or lack thereof.
According to Ramadan, the highest and lowest socio-economic classes are those with the least sense of citizenship.
“Capital doesn’t have a home,” he said, noting that those with monetary capital to spend can make a home of any country by simply investing in it. The destitute, meanwhile, will consider home any country that can offer them shelter.
On a broader level, Omar said citizenship represented not just a legal state but a “state of mind.”
“A citizen should share Egypt’s dreams and hopes for the future,” he said. “I don’t consider those who don’t share these things as Egyptians.”
